Roadrunners leading SLC in 3-point accuracy

It’s still very early in the basketball season, but UTSA is leading all Southland Conference teams in 3-point shooting percentage, a good sign for a program that only a few years ago couldn’t hit much of anything inside or outside the arc.

UTSA (5-1) hopes to continue its offensive renaissance Tuesday night at home when it hosts Cameron, Okla.

With freshman Melvin Johnson III and junior Devin Gibson leading the attack, the Roadrunners have connected on 49 of 111 3-point attempts. That’s good for 44.1 percent.

Johnson leads the team with 13 long balls. He is 13 of 28 for 46.4 percent. Gibson is the individual leader in 3-point percentage (62.5), making 10 of 16 from distance.

As the season opened, the Roadrunners developed a swagger when they singed the Iowa Hawkeyes with 9-of-20 shooting from distance — on the road — in a stunning 62-50 victory before more than 8,000 fans.

The Roadrunners cooled off a bit last week in hitting 5 of 21 over a two-game stretch in Kentucky; undoubtedly, the laws of basketball will continue to catch up to them as the season progresses.

But considering that they shot 34.4 percent from behind the arc last year and won 19 games in the process, then this year’s team might be worth watching in February and March.

Coaching legend Bob Knight once said the first attribute he looked for in a recruit was the ability to shoot.

Fourth-year UTSA coach Brooks Thompson seems to have found more than a few players with that basic talent.